Comparing Collaborative and Cooperative Gameplay for Academic and Gaming Achievements

This article reports an empirical study that explores gender differences in both cooperative and collaborative social gaming in relation to achievements and attitudes. Another aim was to compare students' game attitudes, feelings toward group work, and achievements in cooperative versus collaborative digital game-based learning environments. One hundred sixty-four, sixth-grade students from five different classrooms at an elementary school in South Korea participated voluntarily in this study. A total of 2 boys and 2 girls were randomly assigned to each group, resulting in 20 groups for each of the grouping conditions. Based on interaction effects, results suggest that male students show more positive game attitudes in collaborative conditions, whereas female students show more positive game attitudes in cooperative conditions. Data also suggest that males show more positive feelings toward group work than females, irrespective of grouping conditions. Regarding academic and gaming achievements, female students showed higher academic achievement in collaborative conditions, while male students scored higher on academic achievement under cooperative conditions. Findings from this study indicate that gender-balanced groups show significantly higher gaming achievement in collaboration compared with cooperation. Results are interpreted with reference to future research and classroom practices.